Today started the Focus Program on Applications of Noncommutative Functions at the Fields Institute in Toronto. There will be two workshops: this week on the “Developments and Technical Aspects of Free Noncommutative Functions” and next week on “Applications to Random Matrices and Free Probability of Free Noncommutative Functions”. Both workshops look interesting to me; unfortunately I will miss most of the first one as I will fly only on Wednesday to Toronto.

I will give a series of three talks on the relation between free probability and random matrices. The first talk will be quite general and is also intended for a public academic audience. Its main purpose is to celebrate the 70th birthday of Dan Voiculescu by giving an idea of Dan’s achievements and of free probability theory. The talk and the banquet will be on the very day of Dan’s birthday.